Amos Michelson

VANCOUVER, BC—The fireworks surrounding Robert Burton's bid to wrest control of Creo Inc. from Amos Michelson and the current board of directors will have to wait until February. Creo's board has chosen Feb. 10, 2005, as the date for the annual shareholder meeting, as well as for the special meeting requisitioned by Burton's Capital Management and Toronto hedge fund Goodwood. The pair, which represent 5.96 percent of Creo's outstanding shares, seek to remove Michelson and the current board while naming Burton to head the printing technology company. Burton has made a name for himself on the printer side, having held the top posts for printers

VANCOUVER, BC—Some contend that all is not well in the world of Creo Inc., from its recent financial performance to questions regarding the leadership of its CEO, down to the possibility of a sale. A group of shareholders led by Robert Burton, the veteran commercial printing executive with a penchant for taking on reclamation projects, is seeking to ouster Creo CEO Amos Michelson. His Burton Capital Management LLC and Goodwood Inc. are attempting to insert new leadership—Burton himself—in a proxy battle after a filing last month with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission aimed at removing Michelson and the board of directors. According

VANCOUVER, BC—Creo Inc. is claiming victory in the wake of a district court ruling that six Agfa patents for computer-to-plate (CTP) technology were unenforceable due to acts of inequitable conduct. According to a statement from Creo, the ruling by the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts determined that Agfa failed to disclose known material information to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. "We are extremely pleased with this ruling as it supports what Creo has maintained all along," notes Creo CEO Amos Michelson. "Agfa's patents would never had been issued had Agfa told the patent office the complete facts on the development of automated CTP technology." Agfa

Bridging the Digital Divide BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Trade shows are supposed to be a forum for presenting solutions to meet the needs of attendees. What many people took away from workflow displays at GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO, however, was a bag full of questions . . . and maybe the odd poster or two, a foam sword, canisters of M&Ms, etc. That doesn't mean attendees weren't looking to buy. Exhibitors were more ardent than usual about the quality of the leads they were getting, and they claimed to also be pleased with the quantity. "Turned the corner" was a popular

HERZLIA, ISRAEL—Vancouver, Canada-based Creo Products and Scitex Corp., based here, have entered into an agreement to combine their prepress businesses in the worldwide market for digital prepress equipment. The combined entity will be a US$635 million organization with approximately 4,200 employees worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement, Creo will acquire the assets of Scitex's digital preprint business in exchange for 13.25 million Creo shares valued at some US$537 million. Upon completion of the transaction, Scitex will become a major shareholder in Creo, with about 27 percent of the shares. The new graphic arts group—tentatively named Creo/Scitex—will operate as a division of Creo Products.